Anti-freezing device for water-pipes



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

E. A. NEWMAN.

ANTI-FREEZING DEVICE EUR WATER PPES.

(No Model.) 4 sheets-'sheen E. A. NEWMAN;

ANTI-PREEZING DEVICE POR WATER PIPES. No. 389,098. Patented Sept.4,1888.

A. PEERs. Phmnmhagmptm. wxshman, D. C.

(No Model.) 4 sheets-'sheet 3.

E. A. NEWMAN. ANTI-FREEZING DEVIGB POR WATER PIPES.

No. 389,098. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

3 M lclg N.'PETRS. Pham-Lixhngmphar, Washington DJ;

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4..

E. A. NEWMAN. ANTI-PREEZING DEVICE POR WATER PIPES.

vPatenized Sept. 4, 1888..

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

ED\VIN A. NE\VMAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBI, ASSIGNOR TO THENEVMAN ANTLFREEZING VATER PIPE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ANTI-FREEZING DEVICE FOR WATERBPIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389.098, datedSeptember 4, 1888.

Application filed November 5, 1887. Serial No. 254.414. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.- line-wire, a, to the thermostat TIL. Thefau Be it known that I, EDWIN A. NEWMAN, a cet is provided with a plug,E?, of insulating citizen ofthe United States, residing at Washmaterial,so that when the faucet is turned te ington, in the District ofColumbia, have ina position to have the finger E near on the ventedcertain new and useful Improvements plug the electric circuit will bebroken. The 55 in Electro-Thcrinostatic Anti- Freezing Apfaucet is shownas provided with a ventilatparatus for VaterPipes, of which thefollowing-valve, o, the operation of which is deing is a specification.scribed in my application for Letters Patent The object of my inventionis to provide filed November, 1887, No. 254,413. The ob [o improvedapparatus for the automatic out ott ject of the Ventilating-valve is toadmit air to 6o of water from the service pipes of a building, the pipesto facilitate draining the water from and for draining them at timeswhen the tern them.

peratnre has fallen to such a degree that the D5 indicates a water-trap,such as is often water in the pipes is liable to freeze. used in a pipesystem. At the bottom of the' Another object of my invention is toprobend of the trap I connect a drain-pipe, D, 65 vide means fortemporarily turning on the Waand between the trap and the drain-pipe Iarter to the scrvicepipes when it is wanted after range a valve,preferably formed of a disk, (if,

it has been turned oft' by the therxnostatic ap secured to a stern, D.The valve rests on a parat us. valve-seat, d5, to which is secured astud, d,

2O My invention consists in certain novel appathat projects through aperforation, di, at one 7e ratus and organizations of apparatus adaptedside of the disk. The stud d fits loosely in to attain the objects of myinvention. Certhe perforation, so that the disk may rock up tainfeatures of the invention are deemed and down on the stud as a pivot.

novel irrespective of their application to the The valvestem D4 issecured at its lower end apparatus 1o which they are herein shown as tothe armature D of an electro magnet, D?. 75

applied. The magnet is mounted on the pipe DG, and is The subjectmatterclaimed will be hereinsuitably insulated therefrom, as indicated. afterdesignated. The core ofthe magnet projects into the pipe, In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is and its end is in close proximity tothe armaa diagram view of one form of my improved ture. When the magnetis not energized, the 8o apparatus, showing some ot' the apparatus stemwill hang verticallyand the armature will partly in section. Fig. 2 isadiagram view of 'ne held away from the magnet. The valve will anotherform, with some of the apparatus then be closed; but when the magnet isenerpartly in section- Fig. Bshows another modigized the armature willbe attracted and the tied forni of apparatus. Fig. 4 is a vertical valvewill be opened, asindicatedin the draw- S5 central section of the valvea nd valve-operatings. When the valve is open, the water will ingmechanism shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is pass from the trap into thedrain-pipe D, and a plan view of the valveseanwith the casing thence toa sewer or other conduit. Theline broken away, of the valve shown inFigs. 3 wire n runs from contact cf to one pole of bat- 40 and 4.. Fig.G is a bottom view of the valve tory C B and from the other pole to theelecgo shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and Fig. 7 is a bottom tro-magnet D. Fromthe magnet D2 the wire view of the switch-blocks of the faucet which aruns to the coils of the magnet A of the apis preferably employed in myimproved pipe paratus for controlling the valves between the system.strect-main andthe service-pipes and between .Referring first to Fig. l,Th indicates a therthe service-pipes and the drainpipe. g5 mostat thatmay be et' any suitable construc- Aindicatcs a pipe connected to thestreettion, and E so much of a cool: o1' faucet as is main, and A7 theservice-pipe. The valve A* necessary to illustrate my invention. Aconwhen closed rests on a valveseat, A, and closes tact-finger, E3,bears on the plug of the faucet, communication between the main and theserv- 5o and is connected by an electric conductor or icepipe. The valvewhen closed rests on a roo valve-seat, A7, and closes communicationbetween the service-pipe and the drain-pipe A, which extends through theelectro-magnet A and forms its core. The valves A4 and As are connected,as shown, by a rod or spindle, A3, which passes through the pipe Agandconnects them with the armature A of the electro-mag net A. The spindleA3 extends through the valve Atand is supported and guided in lugs orcross-bars A1" in the pipes. It will be observed that when the valve A4is closed the valve AB is open, and vice versa. The pipes are allconnected by a suitable couplingA", within which is the valve-chamber.The coils of the magnet A are inclosed by a metallic casing, A. A seriesof vresistance-blocks, as, is arranged in a frame, at, of nonconductingmaterial, which is adj nstably attached to the casing A. The end block,ai, is connected electrically with the coils of the magnet A.

The armature A2 carries a spring co1itactfin ger, a2, that is moved backand forth by the armature over the resistanceblocks. The armature iselectrically connected by the spindie A3 and the pipes, as shown bydotted lines, to the faucet E. If the armature A2 be withdrawn from themagnet, the finger a2 will rest on the resistance-block a5, so that amaximum current may pass; but as the armature ap! proaches the magnetthe finger passes over the blocks, so as to throw in more and moreresistance until the armature is home, when the minimum current willpass. As is well known, a feeble current will be sufcient to hold thearmature home,while a much stronger current is necessary to draw it froma distance. This arrangement enables me to save battery.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Suppose the temperature ishigh and there is no danger of the pipes freezing; the electric currentwill then be broken between the thermostat Th and the contact a', sothat no current can, pass through the magnets A and D2. The valve A*will then be held open by the water-pressure and the valve As closed.The valve d* in the trap will also be closed. But suppose thetemperature to be low and the thermostat to be in electrical connectionwith the contact a, the faucet E to be closed, and the finger E restingon the metallic part of the faucet; an electric current will then runfrom one pole of battery C B to electro-magnet D2; thence toelectro-magnet A', resistanceblocks a3, finger a2, armature A2, spindleA3, to pipes; thence to faucet E', finger E3, thermostat Th, contact a',and back to battery. The armature A2 will be drawn home, and willthereby close valve A4 and open valve Af. The armature D3 will also bedrawn home and will open valve dt, so that the water-supply will be cutoff from the house-pipes and the drain-pipes opened, so that the waterin the house or service pipes, as well as in the traps, &c., will beallowed to escape. The valves will remain in this condition as long asthe weather is cold enough to freeze the pipes. Vhen it grows warmer,the electric circuit will be broken at the thermostat and the valveswill assume their normal position. If while the weather is cold it isdesired to draw water from the faucets, the electric circuit may bebroken as soon as the faucet is turned till the finger E rests on theplug E, so that the magnets will be demagnetized and the valve A4 willopen and the drain-valves close. Vhen the faucet is turned back, thevalves will be returned again.

I will now describe a modification of my apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Thisapparatus is so arranged that the electric current is used only at theinstant of energizing the magnets. Just after they are energized andhave attracted their armatures the current is broken. Bysuch anarrangement there is but little consumption of battery, which willconsequently last a long time and need but little attention. thermostat,R* the upper part of a cock or faucet, R3 the valve stern, R2 a metallicswitchblock connected to the casing of the fancet,and It aswitch-block,the body of which is formed of insulating material and is provided onits upper and lower faces with metallic rings as and a, respectively,which project from the block and respectively make contact at times withthe casing It and the metallic block R2. The faucet shown in thedrawings is of that class in which the valveestem is raised and loweredto open and close the Valve. Wrhen the stem is raised, the ring a makescontact with the faucetcasing. Vhen the stem is In this figure, TILrepresents a` IOC lowered, the ring a9 makes contact with the block R2.The circuit-wire a is eleetricallycon nected to the ring a9 and passesto the electro'- magnet D?, arranged below the bend of the trap D. Thecircuit then continues to eontact a', and, when the thermostat isclosed, through the thermostat and battery C 13,10 the coils of theelectro-magnet A. A eireuit-wire, a", is connected to the ring as on theswitch-block R'on the faucet and runs to an electro-magnet, DS, arrangedbeneath the trap D5, by the side of the magnet D2. The cores of themagnets D2 and il)8 project into a valve-casing, D, arranged between thetrap and the drain-pipe D. A valve, cl, normally rests on avalve-seatjust below the trap and over the casing. vWithin the casing isan arm, DW, pivoted at its lower end, and provided at its upper end witha cam, dl", in contact with a stud, d, on the bottom of the valve d4. Inthe drawings the valve is shown closed; but if the arm Dm be swung onits pivot over to the other side of the casing the cam will raise thestud du, and thus open the valve d. The arm D1 constitutes the armatureof the electro-magnets D2 and DS. Vhen the magnet D2 is energized andthe magnet D8 deenergized, the armature will be attracted to a positionto hold the valve d4 open. When the magnet Ds is energized and themagnet D2 deenergized, the armature will be attracted to a position toallow the valve to remain closed.

Referring to the apparatus for controlling the valves between thestreet-main, the serviceipipes, and the drain-pipe, A6 indicates thepipe connecting with the street-main, A7 the servicepipe, and Ao thedrainpipe. AL is a valve designed to open and close communicationbetween the main and the service pipe and between the service-pipe andthe drain-pipe. The valve A* is connected by a rod or spindle, A3,(which passes through the core ot' the magnet A,) with the armature A?,which is preferably cup-shaped, as shown. The pipes A, A7, and A areconnected by a coupling, A, which is provided with an annnlar series ofopenings, c, and a chamber, c, between the pipe A6 and the pipe A7. Anopening, al, is made in the coupling, which opens communication betweenthe pipe A7 and a chamber, a7, that connects with the drainpipe A9. Ifthe armature be withdrawn from the magnet, as shown in the drawings,there will be communication between the main and the service-pipe, andconnection between the service-pipe and the drain-pipe will be closed;but it' the armature be drawn home the valve A4 will be moved beyond theopenings o, so that the communication between the main and theservice-pipe will be closed and communication between the service-pipeand the drain-pipe will be opened.

F2 indicates an electro-magnet mounted on the coupling Aljust over theelectro-magnet A.

F indica-tes a gravity-catch adapted to engage with the armature A2 whenit is home and hold it fast. An arm, f5, of the catch earries thearmaturefl ot' the electro-magnet F2, and also a spring contactwtinger,f, that moves over a block of insulating material, F, and a metalliccontact-plate, f3. The platef3 is electrically connected with the coilsof the magnet F2, which is in turn connected by line aX with battery CB', eleotroanagnet DS, and ring zrin the faucet. The block Fi and platef are curved,so as to allow thc iingerj'2 to move back and forth freely.

On the casing of the magnet A is secured an insulatingblock, a, whichcarries a metallic plate, ar, electrically connected with the coils ofmagnet A. A linger, et, is secured to arma ture A, and is moved back andforth by the armature over block u. and plate ai. When the armature iswithdrawn, the finger a" rests on the plate n, and if the electriccircuit be closed at the thermostat and at the faucet a current will runfrom battery C B to coils of magnet A', to plate ai", to finger at, toarmature A2, to pipes, to faucet, as shown by dotted lines; thence bywire a to magnet D2, to contact a', through thermostat, back to battery.This will energize the magnet A and the armature A1 will bc drawn home.Just before it is fully drawn home the catch F' drops, so that thearmature cannot return. When the armatu re is fully drawn home, thelinger n* will have passed oli from the plate a, so that thc electriccireni t is broken; but, as above rcmarlret'l, the armature is held inplace by the catch F.

its economical use of battery.

The current will also energize the magnet D7, which will attract thearmature DI, and thus open the valve d* in the trap DI". When contact isbroken at the thermostat or at the fancet, the magnets A and D* will bedemagnetized; but the valve A is opened by a separate circuit, and bywhich also the valve al4 is closed. This circuit runs from battery C Bto magnet F2, to platefl, to tingerf, to catch F', thence throughcoupling A1l and pipes to faucet and ring a, when said ring is incontact with the casing ot' the faucet. Freni the ring es the circuitruns to magnet D5, and thence to battery C B. It will be seen that inthe act of opening the faucetthe electric circuit is closed, so as toclose the valve d* and withdraw the catch F. At the same time thecircuit a is broken at the faucet and the magnets D2 and A aredemagnetized. The waterpressure will then force bach the valve A* andhold the armature away from the magnet. As soon as the armaturef* ishome the circuit is broken between fingerj"l and platefi. The nosefrests on the armature Al and holds it up until the armature is drawnhome. Instead of employing a magnet for elevating the catch, apull-cord, F', may be used.

The operation of the apparatus has been sufticiently indicated in theabove description.

The great utility of this form of apparatus is Then the circuit isbroken at the thermostat, no current can pass through either circuit.The circuit a is broken at the contact u', and the circuit c will bebroken as long as the catch F is IGO raisedi. e., as long as thearmature A2 is away from the magnet, which position it always occupieswhen the circuit is broken at the thermostat. Vhen the circuit is closedat the thermostat, the valves will be automatically operated, as abovedescribed, and may be opened and closed at the faucet-in the act ofturning the water on or oi in the usual way.

In Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 I have shown amodilied form of apparatus, bywhich the valve between the strcetmai n and the service-pipe and betweenthe service-pipe and the drain-pipe maybe operated by electrnanagnetsusing a minimum amount of current ina somewhat different way from thatshown in Fig. 2.

A indicates the pipe connecting with the main; A7, the service pipe, andA*I the drainpipe.

Av1 represents a valve adapted to open and close communication betweenthe main and the servicepipe and between the service-pipe and thedrain-pipe. The valve A* is in this instance circular, as shown in Fig.6, and provided on opposite sides with openings A15. On its under sidethe Valve is formed with a. hollowed-out chamber, Al, extendingtransversely across the valve between the openings Ai nearly to the edgeon cachside. The valve A." rests on n horizontal valvelseat, A5,provided with a central opening, a, connecting with the d1'ain-pipe,an lon nach side with openings a, which register at times with the IIOopenings A15 in the valve. When the openings do so register,communication is established between the main and the service-pipe, asindicated in the drawings, and the drainpipe is closed; but when thevalve is given a quarter-turn the chamber A6 registers with both theopenings am, andthe entrance to the drain-pipe and the openings Al5 areclosed-by the solid part of the valve-seat, so that no water can enterfrom the main, and the water in the service-pipe will pass through theopenings cl2 into the chamber A16 and out through the drain-pipe.

rl`he valve A1 is connected by a valve-spindle, A3, to an armature, A2,below the electromagnets A and AX. The armature is preferably formed oftwo wings united at their inner ends and secured to the spindle A3. Aplan view of the armature is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The wingsface in opposite directions, and their upper faces are tapered orinclined from their outer ends upwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, so thatwhen the extreme outer ends of the armature-wings are opposite themagnets the attractive force will be exerted along the inclined surface,causing the armature to turn until the upper plane surface is reached.The movement of the armature will of course correspondingly turn theValve. I have shown two vertical horseshoe electro-magnets arranged withtheir legs side by side equal distances apart, but crossing each other.The cores of the magnets are so arranged that a single pair of magnetswill act correspondingly on the opposite wings of the armature. "lhespindle A3 is surrounded by suitable packing, m, but is free to turntherein. Above the armature and secured thereto is a switch-block, G, ofinsulating material and provided with a metallic contactring, g, onwhich spring contact-fingers c and a7 bear at all times. Above the ringg are curved plates g', each equal to a quarter of the surface of theblock and arranged on opposite sidesthereof. The plates g areinelectrical connection with the ring g, preferably being formedintegrally therewith. Spring contact-fingers a8 and a9 bear at times outhe plates g' and at times on the surface of the block between theplates. The ring and plates are sunk into the block so that their outersurfaces coincide. The tinger c is arranged diagonally opposite to thefinger as, so that they will be on correspending plates g' at the sametime. The iingers a7 and c are similarly arranged. The frame and casingof the apparatus may be of any suitable construction. I preferably formau annular brass base-piece, G', over pipes and on it mount a plate, G2,of insulating material. The magnets are mounted onthe plate G2, and arecovered by a casing, G3, secured at the top to the metallic connectionbetween the cores of the magnets.

Referring to Fig. 3, M3 indicates a switchplate of insulating material,provided with a hand-switch, m3. Two contact-buttons, m4 m5, arearranged on one side of the plate in close proximity to each other, sothat the switch may close an electric circuit between them. Similarbuttons, m6 m7, are arranged on the opposite side of the plate. Acircuit-wire, a, runs from button m to thermostat Th, thence to batteryC B,thence t0 sp ring-finger c6, thence to ring g on the switch-block toplate g', to linger as, to coils of electro-magnet A', and thence bywire a to button mi. When an electric circuit is closed through thiscircuit, the valve A4 will be closed-i. e., the water will be cut offfrom the main and the drainpipe will be opened. Of course, if thecircuit is not closed at the thermostat, the magnet will not beenergized. In the drawings the circuit is supposed to be open at thethermostat. Another circuit runs from button m4 by wire aX to finger al,to ring'g, to plate g8, to finger a9,to coils of electro magnets AX, toline (1*, through battery C B', to button m5. If the circuit be closed,the magnets AC will be energized and will turn the valve so as to turnon the water and close the drain-pipe. The most import-ant feature ofthis construction is, that immediately after the magnets are energizedand the armature has been given a-quarter-turn the electric circuit isbroken by reason of the fact that the plates g go past the 9; ends ofthe contact-fingers c and asand a7 and a9, so that the current is onlyused for an instant. This is true of either circuit.

The operation of the apparatus has been indicated in the abovedescription; but to furroo ther explain: Suppose that the temperaturefalls and the circuit a is closed at the thermostat; the magnets Awillimmediately be energized and will turn the armature so as to shutthe valve AK Immediately after the valve is [o5 closed the circuit isbroken, the contact-plates g having left the contact-fingers t6 and asot this circuit and made contact with the fingers of the other circuit.The valve will remaink stationary until the other circuit is closed atiro the hand-switch, when the magnets AX will be energized and the valveagain opened. By this arrangement the valve may be opened and closed atpleasure.

If the thermostat be omitted, the valve may l if, be opened and closedat pleasure by simply shifting the hand-switch; but when the thermostatis included in the circuit for closing the valve the circuit will beclosed automatically at the thermostat to shut the valve when izo thetemperature falls to the freezing-point.

My improved apparatus is especially designed for use in a pipe system;but some parts of it are obviously more extended in their application.

The apparatus may be connected in the circuit of an electric-lightsystem, by which powerful currents may be utilized to operate thevalves.

I claim as of my own invention- 1. The combination of the main, theservicepipe, a valve for opening and closing communication between themain and the servicepipe, the electro-magnet, the armature of theelectro-magri et connected to the valve, the electric circuit, includingthe coils of the electromagnet, the faucets in the service-pipes, andthe circuit making and breaking devices operated by the faucets,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the main, the servicepipe, a valve for opening andclosing communication between the main and the servicepipe, theelectro-magnet, the valve spindle, the armature of the electro-magnetconnected to the valve-spindle, the electric circuit, including thecoils of the electro-magnet,the thermostat for automatically making andbreaking the circuit, the faucets in the service-pipe, and the circuitmaking and breaking devices operated by the faucets, substantially asset forth.

3. The combination of the main, the servicepipe, the drain-pipe, apipe-coupling connecting the main, the service-pipe, and the drainpipe,a valve within the coupling for opening and closing communicationbetween the main and the service-pipe and between the servicepipe andthe drain-pipe, thc valve-spindle, the electro-magnet, the armature ofthe electromagnet connected to the valvespindle, and the electriccircuit, including the coils of the magnet, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the main, the service pipe, the valve for openingand closing communication between the main and the servicepipe, theelectro-magnet, the valve-spindle passing through the core of themagnet, the armature carried by the valve-spindle, the electric circuit,the contact-finger carried by the armature and moving coincidentlytherewith for making and breaking the circuit, and the thermostatincluded in the circuit, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination ofthe main, the servicepipe, the drain-pipe, a valvefor opening and closing communication between the main and theservice-pipe and between the service-pipe and the drain-pipe, theelectro-magnet, the valve-spindle passing through the core ofthe magnet,the armature of the electromagnet secured to the valve-spindle, theelectric circuit c, including the pipes, the thermostat forautomatically making and breaking the circuit, the faucet, theswitch-block, the contactring a9, foi` making and breaking the circuitat the faucet, the electro-magnet F2, its armature, the catch operatedthereby, the electric circuit ax, including the pipes and the magnet F2,and the contact-ring ai, for making and breaking the circuit ax at thefaucet, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the main, thc servicepipe, the valve for openingand closing communication between the main and the servicepipe, theelectro-magnet, the valve-spindle passing through the core of themagnet, the armature of the electro-magnet secured to the valve-spindle,the sewer-trap, the valve in the bend of the trap, the electro-magnetfor operating the Valve, the electric circuit, including the coils ofthe electro-magnets, the thermostat for automatically making andbreaking the circuit, the faucet, and the circuit making and breakingdevices operated by the faucet, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my naine.

EDWIN A, NEWMAN.

Vitnesses:

LLOYD B. Wiciii, ALLAN Moll-anu Anular.

